E Ti Amo Cosi
by TheTravellingBling
Summary: CHAPTER 6 UP! - This is just a dream... Just dream... And when I opened my eyes, the devil's gone...
1. Prelude

**Author's Note: **My first fanfic… yay! What an accomplishment… hahaha… I'm so happy… To those who would read, please review...Pretty please??… I don't bite… :D Arigatou… :D

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**Summary:** Ice and fire… That's Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko… She never intended to get involved with him again, but seems like fate is playing a game on her, because one day, she found herself living on the same house with him… And she got nothing else to do but to cope up with him, especially when she got dragged into joining the school concours because of the mischievous music fairy, Lili…

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**Disclaimer:** (I forgot to have this one when I first published the story... Gomen... :) La Corda D'Oro, anime, manga and game versions are owned and created by TV Aichi, Kure Yuki-sensei and KOEI, respectively. The author owns nothing but the story plot and other characters (if there would be any) that would be incorporated in the story. The author, too, doesn't own any of the songs to be featured later on in the story.

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_**E Ti Amo Così…**_

(And I Love You So…)

**Chapter 1**

**PRELUDE**

Kahoko parked her car carefully on the parking space reserved for her in the building's basement. She collected her things on the passenger seat opposite her, stepped out of the car and headed towards the lift.

The night shift security guard greeted her good evening as she came near. She politely answered with a nod and a tired smile before entering the elevator. She pressed hard on the button indicating the sixth floor where her unit is. She subconsciously leaned on the elevator wall and closed her eyes. She felt tired. Her head had been aching since this morning.

She left the school early, leaving her assistant for the remaining working hours. _"Serenata" _would close at six in the evening, sometimes extending another half hour for special sessions some students had requested

She owns a small music school, which she had put up right after she graduated in Seiso Daigaku, with the help of her parents and friends. They're on operation for half a year now. And they had been striving to give her musically inclined students a good grasp for music, its true essence – that music is something to be shared and enjoyed. She had also chosen a gifted assistant under Mori-san, her concours accompanist, who gladly accepted the job when she proposed it to her. Her concour friends were helping her willingly, too. Even the great Yunoki Azuma. He helping her made her earn death glares, something she thought only one particular person had the ability to do, and hate mails from his fans' club. If they only knew Yunoki-senpai's true color.

She has a lot of plans for this venture of her. It was more than just a business. It was something important for her. Music. Something she had always associated with _him_. Something she considered her only connection to _him_.

The elevator finally stopped on her floor. She stepped out, then made her way to her unit. She can hear her home phone ringing inside while unlocking the door. Whoever that person who is calling her must have called the school first and had been informed that she left early. After a couple of minutes, she was inside her unit. She threw a glance at the phone then entered her room, threw her bag on the bed then picked up the extension phone.

"Hello…" she said while removing the straps of her high heeled shoes.

"Thank goodness you're home already!" it was Nami-san on the line. She grimaced silently. She knew, more or less, why she's calling. "We're afraid you'd miss him." she continued excitedly, the she heard giggles on the other line. _Mio and Nao must be with her, too_, she thought frowning. She can smell trouble.

"Turn your TV set on, Kaho-chan! Channel two! Don't be so clumsy and do it fast! Gosh!" then she heard squealing. She gave out an exasperated sigh. She never thought Nami-san is _his _fan, too.

"Nami-san…" she started then cleared her throat. I'm tired. I have a headache. That's why I went home early today," she reasoned out. She thinks her headache wouldn't get any better if she would listen to what her friend was saying.

"C'mon, Kaho! Don't give me that crap," Nami said, mockingly. "Anticipation of seeing him on television gave you the headache. If I didn't know better."

"Alright. I'll watch it. 'Bye," she said with a sigh before hanging up. She knew Nami-san wouldn't stop bothering her if she would not give in to her whims. She absent-mindedly settled the phone back on its cradle.

She knew what, or should she say who, her friend was referring to. Different local stations had been airing the news for three weeks now. World-renowned violinist, Tsukimori Len, will be there in Japan to have a concert tour.

Tsukimori Len, the new sensation in classical music industry. People from all over the world come to watch his performances. Famous and respected. He even surpassed his parent's fame. His music compositions were played on concerts throughout the world. She even taught interested students his pieces.

He was gorgeous and sexy yet distant when he perform on his concerts, yet, people were moved, amazed and left awed by his playing.

His latest piece, _Still Mine, Then and Now_, a composition made for voice talents which he sometimes play in violin during his concerts, was top grosser. Japanese hosts had interviewed him in Paris in one of his tours. She had watched them all both with pride and heavy heart.

She was shocked when she read where his first concert tour destination in Japan will be held – Seiso Gakuen! Their alma mater. The place that started it all.

Some of Len's party was there already. The whole town, especially the academy, was in chaos. People were overwhelmed and proud, even those from neighboring places.

He had admitted on one of his magazine interview that he practically grew up in Yokohama when he was asked why he had chosen to make his debut concert on that venue. That a large part of his life was spent on that particular place. She smiled at the memory. That was Tsukimori Len, for goodness' sake! Seiso's Ice Prince! No one had expected an outright and sincere admission of certain things from him. She remembered that time when he had run away from Nami-san to avoid an interview. He could have save them from having a shock attack if only he had answered with such annoyance, a cold voice and a stoic expression. However, he didn't. He just smiled, a sad smile, as he answered the interviewer's question. The magazine photographer had caught that one, and his rare smile had made the magazine a top-seller.

Her friends were complaining to high heavens because they got a third row seat from the front stage. They couldn't have gotten tickets if Yunoki-senpai didn't give each of them, including her. Tickets sold on neighboring towns and ticket outlets were sold out two months before the scheduled concert.

And she knew about Len's guesting tonight on this primetime show. She doesn't want to watch him on interviews if it can be helped, which was foolish, because she had all his albums and even watched some of his concerts aired on local television.

And as far as she was concerned, from the time Len started his recording career, she neglected playing other pieces but his.

She drew a deep breath. No one would know if she won't watch him tonight. This happening was obviously the reason of her headaches these past few days. She was tensed though there was no reason to be tensed. She was tormenting herself unnecessarily. Len probably hadn't remembered her in the past eight years. Why would he now that he is hot property?

But there was a tiny voice on her head ordering her to watch him. Seeing Len on Japanese television is a rare chance.

She moved toward the TV set, got the remote control and turned it on, pressing the"2" button. Tsukimori Len is currently playing – his face occupying the whole screen.

She momentarily forgot how to breathe. Mesmerized, she slowly moved back towards the settee and slumped herself in.

Six years ago, he had boarded the crest of the recording wave. Now, he was hot property.

She saw how fans, men and women, young and old, whisper "ooohs" and "aaahs" when he performs. His playing was excellent, heartwarming and captivating although it was laced with sadness, bitterness and longing, she couldn't quite place. And wherever he went, he was newsworthy. If he as much as smile, if you can call it that, it made the supermarket tabloids and broadsheets.

He was currently playing one of his hits, while the audience, including her, was momentarily transfixed at the man before them.

She heaved a sigh. Eight long years had passed. Years that seemed to go forever. Many things had happened.

She stopped committing herself into serious relationship after having a failed one. Oh, yes. She went dating with a couple of men. Dinner dates, movie dates, concert and theater dates. But that was just it. No more second chances. She didn't want any relationship to go any further.

Many names were called after her. Some say she preferred women over men. Some said she's wasting her beauty. Men called her Ice Maiden… man hater and many others she just laughed at.

She didn't have any idea why she remained unreachable for men. She just knew one thing. She doesn't want to hurt other persons' feelings again just like what had happened with Ryoutaro. He was her fiancé. But he accused her of being cold. That all along it was Len she loved. Len who had been her rival… her friend… her mentor… her…

But Len left her. And she never heard anything from him again. It was as if he vanished into thin air. Until more than five years ago, when his face started to appear on magazines and international television. The man and his compositions became popular. Kahoko and her friends were excited when they first learned about his success and were so happy for him. She had been his number one silent fan.

She had read in somewhere that Tsukimori Len was married. He never denied nor confirmed the rumors, which was very unusual of him. She, however, had kept albums of news clippings about his sightings with his rumored wife. The press had caught a picture of his wife twice. A Latina, who goes by the name Isabela. She was beautiful, with long black hair that reached her waist, and she seemed oddly familiar. She had always sensed familiarity towards the woman, she just couldn't place where and when she had met and saw her. She was his wife and manager at the same time. And they had a four-year old son.

He must be twenty-six now.

The TV host's voice drifted into her reverie. His number had ended. The host approached him and started the interview process. She closed her eyes tightly. Her headache worsened. She leaned her back against the soft cushion of the settee.

She wondered why the past kept on taunting her. That was forgotten already. Many years had passed. It was almost a decade since that day. Len didn't remember her at all, did he? If he would, he could only associate her to some nosy, meddlesome, accident-prone, red-headed violinist who entered the same concours as him and had lost pathetically.

_Is it over?_

_Are you really over him?_

These lines from a vaguely familiar song entered her mind. Had she really gotten over him? Over the pain she felt that morning she learned he had left her?

She closed her eyes more tightly. The memories of the past succumbed her... beginning from that very morning that started it all...

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**END NOTE: **There I have it. You can kill me now. I was supposed to be writing chapter two of the story but the plot won't just cooperate with me, and so are the other characters, so I just decided to reread and rewrite my work... hahahaha... The chapter is edited... A summary and a disclaimer are now included... I'm so proud of myself after this... I failed to make a summary when I first published the story. Publishing jitters... hahaha... Anyways, as the last sentence of this chapter had concluded, the following chapters would be a flashback... As I had broken the news already, I do hope you would still stay tuned...

**POSTSCRIPT: **Some would probably have questions, you can PM me… I'll try my best to answer your inquiries without babbling too much... To my first reviewers, arigatou! muchas gracias! danke! These words, although they mean the same, can't express how I really feel... I noticed though, that some had the same reactions... LEN'S MARRIED!?! There. And yes, he is married to me... hahaha... That thing is a part of the twist of the story. I know you all love Kaho-chan, but please don't kill Isabela this early... She has her own role...

Tch... Guess I said to much already... Gomen for taking much of your time... Until next time! Arrivederci! Oh please don't forget my request, please review! :) Arigatou!

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___**Next on "E Ti Amo Cosi": **_"Something's wrong." Len said, his arms crossed in his chest and was staring at the doll. "We can't have a baby yet."


	2. Da Capo

**Author's Note: ***whimpers* Finally… I have come up with the second chapter… This is just the second installment and yet the narration already killed me… *sigh*

Anyways, I actually didn't plan this chapter to come out like this. However, due to some events, it came out like this. So, the story will be a bit AU, because it deviated from the original manga and anime plot. I just hope you would like this one…

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**Summary: **Ice and fire… That's Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko… She never intended to get involved with him again, but seems like fate is playing a game on her, because one day, she found herself living on the same house with him… And she got nothing else to do but to cope up with him, especially when she got dragged into joining the school concours because of the mischievous music fairy, Lili…

* * *

**Disclaimer: **La Corda D'Oro, anime, manga and game versions are owned and created by TV Aichi, Kure Yuki-sensei and KOEI, respectively. The author owns nothing but the story plot and other characters (if there would be any) that would be incorporated in the story. The author, too, doesn't own any of the songs to be featured later on in the story.

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**Lili's One Point Classic: ** "Da Capo", our chapter title is a musical term directing a musician to go back to the beginning of the piece.

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**E Ti Amo Così**

**Chapter 2**

**Da Capo**

"Mom!" Kahoko shouted frantically as she rushed downstairs. It was Monday, another school day, and heaven help her because she was already late.

"Mommy!" she called again, but there was no response. Where could her mother be?

"Mom!" she tried her luck again, shouting on the top of her lungs. But it seems like her shouts were only whispers because there was still no response.

If only she had woken up early, she wouldn't be creating havoc in their orderly home. She's in a hurry. She will be late anytime soon or sooner if her mother wouldn't show up and fulfill her promise to send her off to school before going to her workplace.

Her mother owns a five-star health and beauty clinic in Yokohama. When her father and elder brother died in a plane crash, roughly three years ago, the insurance her mother received enabled her mother to put up a business. Though in actuality, it was all her sister's idea.

"Onee-chan," she called her sister who was idly sitting in the living room couch and was watching the morning news in between a mug of hot chocolate and a Caesar salad. She was just too glad her sister was too absorbed in watching the morning news rather than to mind her shouts. If not, she would be taunting her endlessly for not rising up early.

"Where's Okaa-san?" she asked.

"Talking to Misa-san," her sister replied without even giving her a single glance.

Kahoko rolled her eyes. So the great pianist was here. Misa Hamai was a world-famous pianist and her mother's best friend. No wonder her mother wasn't answering her. They must be in for some good talking. After all, Misa-san was always out of the country with her husband to perform on concerts abroad.

She turned her back to her sister and went outside the garden to see the two elder women, while mentally giving her mother a sermon. She saw the two talking seriously. Her mother, Hino Saori, looked bothered while Misa Hamai looked worried and concerned. She wonders what they were talking about for her mother to look so bothered and worried.

"Oh, hi, Kaho-chan," Misa Hamai greeted her with a smile when she saw her closing in. She greeted her quite loudly that her mother gasped aloud and turned to her, unable to fake a face. She looked much worried now, than minutes ago. Her gaze shifted from her to Misa Hamai. The other woman just smiled in assurance and her mother sighed. Are they hiding something?

"Are you ready, Kaho, dear?" her mother asked after clearing her throat.

She stared blankly at the two women, thinking about the scene just a few seconds ago. What was that just now?

"Kaho, dear, are you okay? You seem like spacing out." Her mother's voice snapped her back to reality. Her face questioning rather than worried. She gave out a sigh and decided to put off what she saw.

"I'm going to be late, mom." She said frowning a bit. Great. She will be late and yet she was busy thinking about she's not supposed to get herself involved in. So much for being meddlesome.

"I'm ready," her mother said. "I'm actually waiting for you." She added a matter of factly.

She frowned and gave out another sigh. Fine. Put the blame on her. She was just about to go inside the house, when she heard Misa Hamai's son, Tsukimori Len, stepping out from their house.

"I'm leaving, mother." He said flatly.

Kahoko's gaze turned to him. Tsukimori Len. She grimaced. He's the last person she would want to see in the morning. Seiso's Ice Prince. Her eyebrows rose as she surveyed him. He's wearing his department uniform plainly. The lush of his blue hair combed neatly. Clean, prim and proper. Like a girl. She smiled at the thought. Yes, like a girl. Although, she knew he's far from being one. On his right hand was his school bag and on his left was his violin case. Violin…

Her eyes tried to find something more worthy of attention rather than him. She won't want to journey down memory lanes this morning. Not when Tsukimori Len's gaze was boring on her. Coldness and indifference in his golden eyes as he looked at her. She looked away.

"Mom, let's go!" she said turning to her mother yet again to get her attention.

"Oh, yes! Len, why don't you come along with us? I'm sending Kaho off to school today." Her mother asked Len with a warm smile on her face.

"Mom!" she protested while tugging her mother's clothes. She doesn't want to go to school with Len. Not today. Not ever. She already had a bad morning. She didn't want to ruin it anymore.

"Thank you," she heard Len said. She immediately turned to him who was looking at her coldly. She glared at him. He's really pissing her off. She was just about to say another word of protest when Len continued.

"But I planned to drop by the music store to get the piece I ordered. " He said politely.

She drew a deep breath. _Thank God_, she thought.

"You two used to do everything together," her mother said while alternately giving her and Len a quizzical look. "What happened?"

Kahoko was mentally counting from one to ten, keeping in mind that she is her mother and she doesn't want to have any misunderstanding with her. She breathed deep to soothe her nerves. Does her mother know that curiosity killed the cat?

"Kaho? Len?" her mother pursued.

She and Len looked at each other. Golden eyes met amber ones. He smirked. She glared at him for a good half-minute before looking away. "Mom, let's go." She said irritably. Her guardian angel would praise her now that she'd somehow gotten a good grip of her temper.

"Look at those two," Mrs. Hino said to Misa Hamai, completely ignoring her. "Another year and they will be off to college. Time flies. Seems like it was only yesterday. They were practically living together on that tree house." Her mother said, her voice reminiscent as her gaze shifted from the pianist to that particular tree house she was talking about.

She absent-mindedly followed her mother's gaze.

Her father had that tree house built for her as a birthday gift when she turned six. The tree was located in between their and the Tsukimori properties. As a result, a part of their fence was a bit lower compared to the other parts enabling the owner of each property to see each other.

At first, she was only playing with Mio and Nao up in the tree house. But after having caught a glimpse of the Tsukimori's son one day, she would always go over their house to ask him to play with her.

That was their first meeting. Tsukimori Len. Cold. Indifferent. And he stares like crazy. He hardly talked, and when he did, he would just snap at her and shove her away. But nonetheless, she likes him. She didn't know why and how that cold and emotionless boy came to her liking. But who cares. She just wanted a playmate.

It took a really long span of time before he had convinced him to play with her. Why? He was the skeptical type. He thinks like an adult and he would always shut himself up in his practice room o play his violin. But, damn, who cares again? He's now her playmate and she's just too happy although he had always said she's annoying, irritating and crappy.

But she somehow changed him. He had learned to speak to her without snapping. And the boy who formerly just had a few words became a boy with a few long sentences to say. She felt his guards were melting down as time went by.

While she played with her dolls, Len would play his violin. He would stand up the table and play with such talent and grace. And she would watch him in awe, adoration in her eyes. In her young mind, she knew he can go far with all his skills. A violin prodigy at the age of three. He plays with preciseness and perfection. Something she had failed to achieve. If only…

But his music was cold and emotionless. She wondered how beautiful music was expressed in such a cold manner. She had tried to ask him why so, but h threatened her that he won't play with her again if she would dare ask that question to him again.

Misa Hamai's voice brought her back to reality. When she turned towards her, her gaze met Len's. Hovering on his lips was that infuriating smile, something everyone, except her, didn't have the privilege to see. He didn't make smiling a habit. He seemed to know that she just had a run through of their childhood days. She gave him a sharp look in response and focused her attention to what the pianist was saying.

"Look at that son of mine, Saori. He would just spend the day with just him, his violin and his music." The pianist said while shaking her head.

"Mother…" Len said, impatiently. Talk about nosy people who want to poke around and prod over somebody's life – his life for that matter – even if she happened to be his mother.

"Oh, shut up, Len." His mother said in a reprimanding tone. "Why don't you loosen up a bit? How about going out with Kahoko?" So, Misa Hamai, his mother, the great pianist, is also a scheming witch.

"What do you think, Saori? I'd love to see them together." The pianist continued with a girlish giggle, ignoring the dubious looks and death glares she's receiving from both Kahoko and Len.

"Why not, Misa? It would be great to have your son as my in-law." Mrs. Hino, agreed, giggling too.

"Mom!" Kahoko shouted in protest. Her mother might have wanted an ice block to be her son-in law but not her. Who would want an ice berg to her husband? Definitely not her!

"Eh? Kahoko?" The two women exclaimed simultaneously, their face quizzical and incredulous as they looked at her.

She stood there rooted on the spot, a tinge of pink showing on her cheeks. Why the hell is she blushing! Before the two women can bombard her with questions, Len's voice broke the tension.

"Practicing is way much better than dating Kahoko." He said coldly, with emphasis on every word. And before he could see his mother's shocked face, he turned his back and walked away.

It took several split seconds before anybody spoke. It was Misa Hamai.

"Gomen nasai for Len's manners," she said apologetically, still in shocked of her son's statement. She gave them an awkward smile before turning her back and walked towards their house, hoping that she would still catch up with Len and talk to him.

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"I'm glad the Tsukimori's are here, okaa-san." Kahoko said after settling herself inside her mother's car. She's trying not to sound irritated about what Len said awhile ago. The feeling is mutual anyway.

"Yes, dear. I'm quite happy they won't be having concerts abroad for the next couple of months." Her mother said and gave out a long sigh.

"Mom?" She said while studying her mother's expression. She suddenly remembered her mother's bothered expression before she interrupted her conversation with Misa-san. The two women seemed to be in to something serious.

"Are you keeping a secret to us?" She asked. Her mother was startled by the question, evidenced by the sudden halt of the car she was maneuvering out of the garage. She turned to her, with a worried expression, and stared at her for a couple of minutes.

"What made you think that?" Mrs. Hino asked back while looking away, trying to hide her guilt-stricken face. Should she tell Kahoko about the PI report Misa told her this morning? Her daughter would surely be bothered about it, too.

"Mom?" Kahoko called yet again, interrupting her mother's thoughts. Creases on her forehead were showing. "Is there something we need to know?" she asked promptly.

Her mother turned to her, faked a face then said, "What made you ask such idiotic questions, dear?" She can't tell Kahoko yet.

She was perplexed by the sudden change of her mother's mood. There really is something fishy. She can feel it, but decided not to press on. Her mother might have a good reason for not telling them yet.

"So, the Tsukimori's won't be having concerts abroad this year, mother?" she said, deciding to change the topic. Her mother merely answered with a nod, still wary about the topic. Se didn't even bother to look at her and concentrated on driving instead. Kahoko gave out a sigh and looked outside the window.

"Why is that so, mother?" she asked out of the blue, leaning her back on the soft cushion of the seat.

"I don't have any idea, Kaho. But don't you think it would be nice because they would be able to spend time with Len?" her mother replied after a long moment of silence, her voice tender.

She wanted to say "yes" in response but decided against it in the end. Len deserved a lot of her sympathy for not having a normal family like she had. His parents were always out of the country and busy. As a kid, she remembered asking Len why she seldom sees his parents. He would just shrug his shoulders, change the topic or get back to playing his violin. She had come to the conclusion that Len didn't want talking abut his parents. She knew he doesn't want to be on the shadows of his parents. But they are still at odds. Why would she sympathize with the enemy?

"Kaho?" her mother's voice broke the silence. "I remembered you'd be having your first major exam in English? I don't see you studying in that subject you find difficult. Why don't you ask Len to help you?"

Her eyebrows rose. Her mother had tactfully changed the topic from Len's parents. But, nonetheless, they are still talking about Len.

"Len!" _Over my dead body!_

"Why not? Mrs. Hino said."When you were kids I remembered seeing Len's report card. He's also good in English aside from music."

"Mom, I can handle my English, okay? I don't need Len." She said annoyed.

Her mother turned to her. "Tell me, Kahoko. What happened between you and Len? You two were best of friends. How come you seldom, or should I say never, talk to each other now?"

She was silent for a moment. She didn't want to think about it but the memories came rushing. The reason why for the past years, she seldom talk to him.

"_Len-kun!" Kahoko shouted from atop the tree house. "What's taking you so long?"_

"_Coming!" Len shouted back and climbed the wooden ladder leading to the tree house. "How annoying," he murmured. He impatiently gave her the doll she told him to get in her room. "You're coming up here leaving that. Your onee-chan scolded me. She said I'm disturbing her." He said irritably and made his way towards the center table where his violin case was placed. _

"_I want us to play house, Len." She said giving him her Barbie doll. Then, she started scattering her other toys on a small table that the two of them brought up three years ago._

"_Play house!? No way! That's girly stuff." She heard him say as he proceeded on taking his violin from its case._

_She stopped placing her plastic toys on the table, stood up and gazed at him. Lately, Len doesn't want to play with her. He would just ne off practicing his violin the whole day._

_She gave him that pleading look. "Please! You'll be the daddy and I'll be the mommy. Please!?"_

_His attempt to play his violin failed when she pleaded. He gave her that odd stare, thinking whether to consent with her whims again._

"_Alright," he said after a moment, obviously annoyed. "But for only a few minutes. I'm going to have a recital this weekend."_

_Kahoko's face brightened up. She turned to get her doll._

"_This will be our baby." She said happily while holding the doll near her chest._

"_Something's wrong." Len said, his arms crossed in his chest and was staring at the doll. "We can't have a baby yet."_

_Kahoko's eyebrows rose._

"_Why?"_

"_Because we haven't kissed," he continued in his playful self, a mischievous smile hiding in his lips._

"_What?" Kahoko almost shouted to what she had heard. "No way!"_

"_But that's how it goes," he explained, and then closed the distance between their faces. His lips met hers. It was fast and brief, she hadn't even noticed it. But she felt the touch of something warm and moist on her lips._

_Len kissed her!_

_Kahoko was speechless for a moment. She was shocked. Her eyes wide as saucer. Her mouth agape. But her scream wouldn't come out._

_Len, on the other hand, was staring at her in disbelief. He didn't know what to do after his mischief._

_Kahoko touched her lips absent-mindedly. It was wet. Yuck! She can't tell whether it came from Len's mouth or from the sweat forming on his upper lip. He kissed her. Her playmate, her best friend, her protector. She can't believe he can do that!_

_Finally, after a series of inhale-exhale, Kahoko screamed. But Len's hands immediately muffled her screams. Panic in his golden eyes._

"_Kahoko, don't shout – Ouch!" he shouted when she bit his hand covering her mouth._

"_I hate you!" she said, her voice unsteady. She wiped her lips with the back of her palm and walked towards the wooden ladder. "I won't play with you again!" she said then rushed down the stairs._

"_Kaho-chan, wait!"_

"_Mommy!"_

"Hey!" her mother called, breaking the silence. "You haven't answered my question yet. What happened between the two of you?"

She looked outside the window again and secretly sighed.

"High school happened, mom."

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**END NOTE:** I came out with a pretty long chapter... good, or not so good? Suggestion? Comments? Criticisms? They are highly appreciated. ^.^

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**POST SCRIPT: **I edited chapter 1.. You can read it again, if you please... Thank you... :)

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**NEXT ON _"E Ti Amo Cosi"_:** "Nonsense!" a familiar voice echoed in the whole room. _What?_ Kahoko suddenly stopped. Was he talking about her? At the thought, she immediately turned to see whose voice was it...


	3. Acceso

**Author's Note: **I updated pretty fast, huh? Haha… thanks for a special holiday, I have the computer for myself the whole day, although it's really boring to be all alone in the house. I've got a pretty long chapter update again, I noticed Anyways, I hope you would like this chapter, as much as you had appreciated the last chapter. Arigatou… 

Oh, and thanks to the reviewers of the last chapters: Moonshine79, Annalisemarie, ThatGirl96, Llyza, Kururin-chan, dhidi-chan, roses-and-red, franfranxlurvesxpiano, and of course, to my newly-found beta-reader, nelly-chan…  arigatou, nelly-chan… 

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**Summary:** Ice and fire… That's Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko… She never intended to get involved with him again, but seems like fate is playing a game on her, because one day, she found herself living on the same house with him… And she got nothing else to do but to cope up with him, especially when she got dragged into joining the school concourse because of the mischievous music fairy, Lili…

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**Disclaimer:** La Corda D'Oro, anime, manga and game versions are owned and created by TV Aichi, Kure Yuki-sensei and KOEI, respectively. The author owns nothing but the story plot and other characters (if there would be any) that would be incorporated in the story. The author, too, doesn't own any of the songs to be featured later on in the story.

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**Lili's One Point Classic: **"Acceso" the chapter title, is another musical term meaning, "ignited" or "on fire". I'm not referring to a lemony-limey scene here. It's just that… Oh well... Just read the chapter... 

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**E Ti Amo Così**

(And I Love You So…)

**CHAPTER 3**

**Acceso**

Kahoko's brisk walking broke out into a sprint when she heard the school bell ringing from afar. Oh no! She was going to be doomed. She blamed the traffic jam they encountered while running towards the school. _Oh, for Kami's sake! Why d__o__ you have to get into a traffic jam when you're already running late?_ Maybe, this wasn't just her lucky day. _Scratch that_. This really wasn't her lucky day because she saw Tsukimori Len early in the morning.

She was out of breath when she reached the school's gate. The grounds were already deserted. Not even a single student could be seen loitering around, except her, of course. This was a bad sign.

_What's with this school, _she asked herself as she dashed towards their department building and to her assigned room. She slid the door wide open, as she caught for air to breathe.

Her forehead creased when the noise inside the classroom welcomed her ears.

"Good-morning, Kaho-chan!"

"'Morning…"

She heard her two best friends greeting simultaneously from afar. Her vision immediately went to Mio and Nao's direction. Nao was waving at her while Mio made her way towards her.

"You ran here?" asked Nao, suppressing a laugh, although her eyes betrayed her.

"You didn't have to, Kaho-chan. It's homeroom right now," Mio said, standing in front of her and helping her while making their way to their seats.

"Eh?! I even ran. My loss…," she thought, a dark aura emanating from her. Her reaction made her two best friends snickered beside her while she continued mumbling and lamenting to herself.

If only she had waken up early, she wouldn't be encountering Tsukimori Len and she wouldn't be stucked there in a traffic jam, and she wouldn't be running to school… Blame him… That Ice cube…

"Hey, Kaho!" Nao snapped her fingers in front of her so as to get her attention. "Listen to this," Nao said, boredom evident on her voice.

"So mean! You don't have to say it like that!" Mio said, obviously offended by Nao's actions because she was stomping her feet on the floor. She stared clueless at the two. The lines on her forehead increasing. Her sister would surely scold her if she would see her frowning like that. _Kaho, your wrinkles! _She would probably squeal like that and massage her forehead.

"The fairy violin romance… How about it?" Nao said, yawning. Now she was completely naïve about the topic. Fairy what? She turned to Mio who looked so excited and happy. _Eh?_

"You've never heard the story behind the concourse?" Mio said, her hands clasped together, her eyes twinkling.

She turned to Nao, questioningly. Nao just shrugged.

"I don't know if she had coffee this breakfast. Don't look at me like that," her friend said defensively and looked away, completely ignoring Mio's continuous ranting.

"Concourse?" Kaho asked, totally ignorant about the topic and why Mio was acting so strangely today.

"It's the music competition organized by the school!" Mio replied excitedly, twirling around them in a dreamy state. "There's more to it, though, Kaho-chan!" her friend continued, never minding the creases on her forehead and Nao's disgusted look.

"She loves that kind of stuffs. Personally, I can't stand it," Nao whispered to her disdainfully. But Mio showed otherwise, and continued her story about the school concourse. She wasn't really paying much attention because of the looks thrown to them especially to Mio. She gasped aloud when Mio suddenly appeared in front of her, in her dreamy state, her eyes shining with anticipation and excitement. She held her hands.

"So, Kaho-chan… There's a fairy hidden in this school. That fairy helped in the romance between two participants," Mio said, full of excitement, she let go of her hands and twirled in front of them.

"The love between two rivals! Isn't that amazing?" Mio said, and then squealed afterwards. She shook her head. As expected from Mio. She would be moving up and down in excitement because of those romantic stuffs.

"Oh! I wish I would be selected," Mio said squealing excitedly and had totally gone off to her Lalala Land.

Kahoko sighed and massaged her nape.

"I don't know about fairies or whatever. And the concourse involves the music department, right? I just don't think that has anything to do with us, so why bother," she said, then looked out of the window and stole a glimpse in the Music Department's building. Music Department… Music… Instruments… Her father… Tsukimori Len… She immediately diverted her thoughts at the thought of him. _Practicing is way much better than dating Kahoko._ His words echoed in her mind. The nerve of him! She had put the thought off while she was at home and in the car. And besides, she shouldn't be sulking like that over that irritating thought. The feeling was mutual. How many times did she have to remind herself about that?

"It seems that the participants don't have to be from the Music department."

Her thoughts were strained by Nao's sudden interruption. Apparently, Mio was too oblivious of everything to object to her opinion.

Kahoko turned to look at her. "Really?" she asked, her eyebrows raising an inch. Well, if Tsukimori's good at glaring then she's good at raising her eyebrows.

"Well, even though it actually ends up that way, it appears that the standard is high and international fame awaits the winner," Nao informed.

"Oh… I see…," she nodded in reply. What if she would be able to join the concours…? What would it be like…? She put off the idea when she remembered her mother… Okaa-san… She wouldn't want that… She sighed. Music wasn't really for her. If only her father was here, maybe things would come out differently… She stopped herself from remembering memories again, especially the ones that reminded her of those days when her family was still complete. Besides, she'd been doing that the whole morning. She sighed for the nth time that day and tried sweeping off the cobwebs on her mind.

"Hey, that reminds me…," she heard Nao said beside her. "It's unusual for you to be late, 'ne, Kaho. Did you oversleep or something?" Nao asked, while gazing at her thoughtfully.

She nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah. I fell asleep a little late last night and I forgot to set the alarm clock," she said, putting her hand under her chin and then she remembered something really dreadful. She frowned, and looked agitated. Why, of all things, did she have to forget about it?

"What was it?" Nao asked again after noticing her distressed look.

She looked at her nervously. "I forgot to do my English homework!" she cried. "It was already morning when I knew it. Oh! I'm doomed! I knew it," she said and started hitting her forehead on her desk.

Nao frowned, avoiding the stares they received from their classmates. How she got two weird friends was bothering her, seriously.

--

"The class is about to begin. Please take your seats."

Kahoko's endless ranting was stopped when the teacher stepped into the room. She heard her classmates gasped aloud. _Eh?_ She raised her face to get a look at their new class adviser. She frowned at the sight. She didn't noticed that her looks were different with those of her other classmates. She surveyed their new homeroom teacher with a critical eye. _Is she really our teacher?_ She asked disbelievingly. Their new homeroom teacher looked completely out of place in the current fashion world, if she might say. She was wearing a long flowery skirt, a long sleeved cream blouse, a black rimmed eyeglasses and her hair tied in a tight bun. Oh. Gosh. Her sister would definitely love to give her a makeover.

Kahoko stopped surveying her when she tapped her palm on the desk and introduced herself.

"I am Elizabeth Amore. I'll be your homeroom adviser for this academic year, in your Music subject," she said stiffly while writing her name on the board. Her Italian accent was clearly distinguishable despite her speaking in Japanese.

"This couldn't be happening…," Kahoko heard Nao and Mio said in a whisper simultaneously.

_Eh!?_ She frowned. Now, what was that? It was just then that she decided to look around. She noticed everybody had the same expression – nervousness and fear?

"Nao, what's wrong?" if there was one thing more silent than a whisper, that was what Kahoko had done. Nao looked at her worriedly.

"She's Music Department's terror teacher," Nao said warily.

_Eh!?_ Her vocabulary seemed to be reduced to that only expression. What was a Music department teacher doing in their department, teaching them music?

Her questions were answered as the teacher continued with her introduction.

"The board of regents had thought of revising the General Education's department curriculum. That's why you'd be having basic Music theory lessons, too, from now on…"

Kahoko's eyes widened. _What!?!_ Them? Music Theory? What on earth was happening? It was not that she didn't like music. It was just that her mother might freak out once she knew they'd be having music lessons too, just like the Music Department students. Her thoughts were stopped abruptly when she heard their new teacher's last sentence.

"… since I am teaching Class 2-A of the Music Department, they will be joining you in your classes from now on," and with a clap, the sophomore students from the Music Department started pouring in. They filed neatly in front of the room, and made their introductions. But only one introduction had concerned her.

"Ohayou, minna-san. I'm Tsukimori Len, Class2-A and I specialize in the violin," he said, standing gracefully in front of the class and staring at everyone coldly.

--

The discussion on music theory passed out like a blur for Kahoko and her classmates, due to many reasons. Firstly, most of them, including her, were bored to death. And secondly and lastly, it wasn't their cup of tea. They were General Education students, for goodness' sake! She wasn't against having Music as part of their subject. She had always dreamt of being a violinist way back when her father was alive. She had also dreamt on putting up her own music school. But things did not come out as she had wanted it to be. She sighed and started to look around rather than to start thinking about the memories of her father and brother. The discussion was about history of music, specifically about Beethoven's biography.

Her eyes wandered around the room and started focusing her attention on various things except her teacher. She was bored to death. She badly wanted to end this silly lesson. Her eyes met Tsukimori's accidentally. She frowned at him. He was seating two seats away from her. He smirked, reminding her of their cold war early this morning. She gave him a sharp look and looked away, deciding to focus her attention to their teacher rather than have a glare contest with him.

She fought the urge to call Mio and just had a silent conversation with her. They wouldn't want the outcome if they got caught. Their teacher seemed like the type that didn't accept explanations and apologies and she didn't want the whole class to get into trouble because of her. And besides, she wouldn't want to humiliate herself in front of Tsukimori. He would surely celebrate if that happens.

She tried hard to focus her attention to what Elizabeth-sensei was discussing.

Elizabeth Amore was a terror teacher, as to what she had heard from Nao and to what she had experienced in their 15-minute discussion so far.

_Amore,_ she flared her nose_. Her surname d__oes__n't suit her_, she thought disdainfully. She stole a glance in her wrist watch. _Twenty more minutes and I'm out of here,_ she thought. She sighed in boredom.

If this wasn't Music, she would definitely hate this subject. But somehow, music had a special place in her heart. But she couldn't blame the boredom getting in on her. Music History. Oh dear. She hated History – next to Mathematics and English. Here was one thing she didn't and wouldn't understand: why do they have to poke around and study dead people's lives when they had their own life to mind? Alright, she could be really meddlesome sometimes but she did not make it a habit to prod over dead people's business, afraid that they might walked out from their resting place and dragged her to their graves. She shuddered at the thought. _Erase that._

One day, she and her sister would inherit her mother's beauty salon. She had planned for it already because she knew it would be impossible for her to put up a music school especially at her mother's grieving state over her father and brother's loss. She would expand the part she would get, put up branches all over the world. She grinned at herself. That was a too big dream. Dreaming was free, anyway.

And when that day comes, what would she do with History? People weren't interested on past issues but current one. _Current._ She repeated. No one was interested over how people from ages ago looked like. Who cared how Beethoven and Mozart's hair and wardrobe looked like? Or how they had composed their sonatas, etudes, whatsoever you called it.

Current demography was more concerned on gossips and scandals of celebrities, politicians and the like. And they would rather imitate a famous celebrity's hair style.

_Celebrity, _she emphasized, in the modern world. _Like those appearing in primetime dramas and shows. And not Beethoven. _

Their music could only give relaxation to her customers. But she would rather have centralized jazz or pop music instead. So, what was the point of discussing Beethoven's life?

Let the dead rest in peace, for Kami's sake!

And here was another one: Math. Figures.

If Diophantus was still alive, she probably would have him assassinated. He had been constantly giving her headaches all because of that silly equations and formulas. What would she do with Math, specifically Algebra, in her life? She was not ignorant in computing and counting money and quantifiable things. Besides, most of her problem – erase that, her problem, actually, is Tsukimori Len. That blue haired guy sitting two seats away from him. Could she taunt him with to-the-tenth-power-what-so-ever?

Definitely not!

And to top them all was English. This was actually her major concern. She had never learned to speak English efficiently. And she knew, if she wanted to do good internationally, she'll have to learn to speak and understand English proficiently.

She stole another glance in her watch. _Ten more minutes_.

"So I want you to listen very carefully to this excerpt of Beethoven's Midnight Sonata." Kahoko heard Elizabeth-sensei said. She played the cassette player on top of her table.

Kahoko grunted. Their professor would definitely take her time. She mumbled stuffs to herself, wishing there would be miracles so they would be dismissed early.

"Hino-san?" Elizabeth-sensei's voice boomed in the room.

_Oh. No. _She didn't notice that the cassette had stopped playing already. She automatically stood up.

"What's your question, Sensei?" she asked, stuttering, wishing to herself that her teacher didn't comprehend her mumblings.

"I haven't asked a question yet, Hino-san," the teacher's voice was making her knees buckle. "Now, here's the question. How was Beethoven able to compose his sonatas and symphonies despite the fact that he was deaf?"

She gave her a quizzical look, as deafening silence fell on the room.

_How?_ She asked herself and swallowed an imaginary lump on her throat. She was tapping her foot on the tiled floor.

"We're waiting, Hino-san," her teacher pressed on, her eyebrows raised. Sheesh. Her teacher could beat her in an eyebrow raising contest.

She faced the whole class and smiled to them. "Well, I believe Beethoven was born to be a musician. He has an innate talent in music…," she paused dramatically for effect then smiled again before continuing.

"His talent is God's special gift that's why he was still able to compose beautiful music even if he became deaf. And I do believe that we all have that God's special gift and it's just waiting to be discovered. That's all, Sensei," she said and ended it with a smile.

The General Education students clapped while the Music students were glaring hard at her, as if she had killed Beethoven. But she didn't mind. Which of the two? She didn't deliver the right answer or she delivered the right answer when they thought she couldn't?

"Arigatou… Arigatou…," she said, still smiling while waving her hands to them like a Miss Universe. She bowed left and right and continued waving at them.

"Nonsense!" a familiar male voice echoed in the room, surfacing above the cheerings.

_What?_ She stopped waving and bowing. Was he referring to her? She turned swiftly to see where the voice came from.

There was an awed hush in the classroom. The music students seemed uplifted at the objection. Everyone, including their teacher, turned to the back row, two seats after her seat.

"Tsukimori-sama, enlighten us, please," their teacher said, smiling sweetly at him.

She glared hard at him when he stood up. He never failed to ruin her day.

"Beethoven wasn't born deaf," Len started, smirking at Kahoko, "he knew what notes and instruments sounded like. And like other composers, he memorized each and every sound of the note before writing it down in the lead sheet. Also, he would put his head on the piano when he played so he knew which note it was merely because of vibrations."

Elizabeth-sensei's brows rose. On her face was utter satisfaction with the answer. "Very well said, Tsukimori-sama. You got an additional five points in your card," she said and turned to her table to gather her things. She unplugged the cassette player, signaling the end of class.

"Test on Monday," she announced then left the classroom without further adieu.

And that was that. Kahoko was left standing in the room.

"I can't believe this!" she raised her hands in the air, and slumped herself to her seat.

_Nonsense. _Len's two syllable word continued running on her head. _That jerk! He embarrassed me, and in front of the whole class, _she thought furiously as she started packing her things.

She turned to look at him. He was smirking at her, looking so full of himself. When he finished packing his things, he smiled mockingly at her. And then he walked out the room without a word.

She won't forget this! Never! Ever!

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**EN****D NOTE:** A pretty fast and long update… My literary system's working really great…  Good or not so good? Kaho-chan's really rude in this chapter… but she needed to do that sometimes, really… so Len wouldn't undermine her continuously... hahaha… Len's a bit rude, too… oh… dear… His mother's going to scold him with that manners of him deprecating… hahaha… anyway, so much for these random ramblings, please review…  the table is now open for suggestions and criticisms, too… arigatou.. 

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**POST SCRIPT: **Was I able to send replies to your reviews? I didn't? Gomen… ^^ I'd find time doing that… ^^,

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**NEXT ON **_**"E Ti Amo Così"**_**:** Did she hear it right? Tsukimori Len-sama, Ice Cube the Great, is accusing her of having a crush on him? On _him_? With this Ice Cube? She flared her nose. It would be a cold day in hell!


	4. Bellicoso

**Author's Note: **Gomen nasai for a late update… school stuffs got in the way… exams and all… torture, really…

Anyways, here's the fourth installment… or third rather… the first chap is a prelude, I guess… If you find anything or everything kind of odd, out of character and the like, please don't kill me... *whimpers* I really did my best to improve this chapter… I even wrote it manually for me to not have that magical writer's block... who invented that, anyway? I'd like to make a monument or compose a song for him... haha… so he would stop pestering my literary system… and if you find some of the wordings wrong, forgive me… just finished storming my Harry Potter books again.. and I think Harry just shot me his Confundus spell combined with Memory charm making me thoroughly confused with the words… *sigh*

Oh, and before I forgot, thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter… cheers! And to those who added my story in their alerts/favorites/communities list, a big hug for all of you… ^^,

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**Summary:** Ice and fire… That's Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko… She never intended to get involved with him again, but seems like fate is playing a game on her, because one day, she found herself living on the same house with him… And she got nothing else to do but to cope up with him, especially when she got dragged into joining the school concours because of the mischievous music fairy, Lili…

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**Disclaimer:** This story is just a fanfic. Please don't confuse it with the original La Corda plot. La Corda D'Oro, anime, manga and game versions are owned and created by TV Aichi, Kure Yuki-sensei and KOEI, respectively. The author owns nothing but the story plot and other characters (if there would be any) that would be incorporated in the story. The author, too, doesn't own any of the songs to be featured later on in the story.

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**Lili's One Point Classic: **Our latest chapter is entitled "bellicoso" is another musical term meaning, "warlike or aggressive"… I'm having a hard time choosing the titles… some terms go hand in hand, others have the same definition… but nevertheless, I think it suits this chapter… Want to know why? Then READ… ^^,

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**E Ti Amo Così**

_(And I Love You So…)_

**CHAPTER 4**

**Bellicoso**

"The nerve of him!" Kahoko blurted out, gritting her teeth in irritation.

"How dare him, embarrassing and humiliating me? And in front of the whole class!" she continued ranting angrily, ignoring the curious looks she was receiving from the student around them, and some mocking ones from those Music students who happened to witness her humiliation.

"It's dismissal time already! He did not need to give his answer anymore, right? Amore-sensei won't remark on our answers anymore. The class is over already," she said in a huff, crossing her arms in front of her breast, sighing deep to calm herself, but failed miserably when the incident in their classroom coursed through her mind yet again. Grr! She could feel her blood rising to her head as her frown deepened in irritation, the lines on her forehead increasing to the tenth power.

"Calm down, would you, Kaho-chan?" Nao told her, patting her on her shoulders.

She sighed in exasperation before turning to her friend.

"How do you suppose me to calm down, Nao-chan!" she asked, her voice rising a pitch. "Look at his manners! How rude! Despicable! He intentionally ruined my reputation!" she lectured grumpily, slumping herself deeper on her seat.

"Why would he do that, 'ne, Kaho?" Mio queried a frown on her face. It was just now that she realized that Kahoko had such a bad grip on her temper.

"And ruined your reputation, eh, Kaho?" Nao said, snickering. "You serious, Kaho-chan? Seriously, what reputation do you have there?" Nao continued in a teasing tone, then burst out laughing.

Mio joined in after awhile, not bothering to tell off Nao for giving such a snide remark. Kahoko looked offended at her two best friends.

"How rude of you two. I really thought you were my friends," she said, putting her lips in a childish manner.

"We are, Kaho-chan. We will always be your friend despite that childish attitude of yours," Mio replied after getting hold of herself from all that laughing.

"That was why we were telling you to calm down," Nao explained, bumping her elbow with hers. "We don't want you to end up having a heart attack with all that ranting of yours," Her friend continued, trying to console her.

"And look at your wrinkles, they're showing," Mio said, pointing on her forehead.

"My wrinkles?" she asked, looking worriedly at her two friends.

"They are showing, Kaho-chan," Mio repeated, while taking a sip from her soda.

"They're visible! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She told them, panic laced in her voice. Her hand immediately went up to her forehead and massaged it.

Mio and Nao laughed at her reaction. How unbecoming. There was Kahoko, acting and ranting childishly in front of them, but was too concerned about her wrinkles.

"What?" Kahoko's monosyllabic question cut through the laughing. She refrained herself from frowning. She might end up looking like a fifty year old lady if she continued doing that.

"It never appeared to me that only your wrinkles can calm you down, Kaho-chan." Nao replied, suppressing a laugh. Her friend never really had the right timing, she thought as her muffled laughs were heard again.

"I haven't calm down, Nao," Kahoko said, looking at her friend defensively. "I was just afraid I would look old earlier than expected," she explained coyly.

"Oh, come on now, Kaho. Get a move on already. It's not the end of the world yet," Nao teased, patting her shoulders yet again.

"Yeah. Just try to get him next time," Mio told her, joining in to their conversation. "Today is just our first meeting. You'll have a lot of chances beating him up." Her friend continued, encouraging her.

She gave out a sigh and forced a nod in agreement. Two versus one. She would just lose if she would enter into an argument with them. And besides, they have a point.

She turned to her sandwich instead and stared hard at it. She would never forget this day. Never would she forget what that Tsukimori Len did to her today.

She took a big bite on her sandwich and chewed it into tiny bits of microscopic pieces, imagining it was Tsukimori Len in between those tasty slices of bread she was eating. She mentally smiled in triumph. At least, she had done something to console herself.

_He didn't taste bad, after all, _she thought and ended up choking because of the idea.

She couldn't and shouldn't think like that when she was mad at him.

She took a sip on her orange soda to ease that nasty feeling in her throat and placed the sandwich back on its place. She suddenly lost her appetite. Thank you very much to that ice block.

She frowned for the hundredth time that day, irritated at herself.

_He didn't __tas__t__e good. And never. Yes, I said never would he taste good. Get it?_ She scolded herself, emphasizing every word she just said. Sheesh. She would end up having a mental problem all because of him.

She gave out a sigh and decided to focus on how she would punish and get her revenge from that violin prodigy. Oh. She would love to kick him, and punch his beautiful – err, erase that – his face. And she would definitely love to beat him up until he begged for her mercy. She would laugh hysterically in front of him, ridicule him to death, because she would never ever give him the pardon he wanted. And she would smother him until he runs out of breath and choke his life out of him. Oh. Such a nice scenario, she told herself, smiling evilly. She could feel Nao and Mio's weird looks at her, but just ignored them. Enjoying and savouring every thought she had.

_What a murderous mind, Hino Kahoko, _her good conscience remarked, shaking its head in a disproving manner while tsk-ing.

_He deserves that, _she argued and continued molesting and murdering that arrogant Tsukimori Len. She was too immersed on planning her revenge that Nao's fake cough startled her.

She turned at her two friends questioningly. She noticed they were too focused on the glass door of the canteen to answer her silent queries.

"What is it?" she finally asked and turned to see what they were looking at. She immediately frowned at the sight. Tsukimori Len, all poised and walking gracefully, was entering the school canteen. Her eyebrows rose.

"What is that devil doing here?" she asked frowning, as she turned to her friends. She mentally noted that this would be the last time for the day that she would frown. Just let her be today.

"To buy some snacks," Nao replied shrugging her shoulders, thoroughly unaware of the rising tension.

Kahoko gave her soda a straight shot and started to pack her things.

"Let's go," she said as she got to her feet in an attempt to stand up, but she ended up slumping back to her seat as realization of certain facts seemed to dawn upon her.

"Wait a minute," she told them, smiling mysteriously. "Why are we leaving?" she asked her friends out of the blue then started to unpack her things again.

Nao and Mio exchanged awkward looks but shrugged their shoulders in the end, unable to grasp their friend's thoughts.

"Because we had finished our snacks already?" both Mio and Nao said in chorus, eyeing her suspiciously.

"No," she replied flatly. "We're not leaving. That jerk would definitely think I am avoiding him… that I feel inferior towards him, and he had beaten me up the last time. We're staying!" she declared, slumping herself more on her seat. A smile of triumph was visible on her lips. _You'll see, Tsukimori Len, _she thought, an evil glint in her eyes.

She heard both Mio and Nao sighed.

"Come on, Kaho-chan. Stop sourgraping already. Let's go. Forget about your grudge towards him," Mio told her, then started packing her things again. She stopped her.

"No. I'm fixed here. I'm not leaving," she replied stubbornly, getting her things away from Mio and unpacked them yet again.

"We're going to be late, Kaho," Nao said, trying to persuade her and tried to pull her from her seat, but she dodged.

"I can't leave. That Tsukimori Len will think that I'm leaving because he arrived. He'll definitely think that I'm such a loser," she said in a whisper. She could see Tsukimori coming near from the corner of her eyes.

_Don't look at him, _she told herself, trying to stop her own eyes from following him. But she just ended up disobeying herself.

"But we're going to be late, Kaho," Mio argued, trying to get hold of her but was unsuccessful.

"Then go ahead. You can leave me here. I'll follow once I'm finished with him," she told them and shoved them away.

"Are you sure?" Nao asked, her brows furrowed in suspicion. She could feel something bad will happen.

Kahoko nodded in response, giving them assurance. She was silently following Len with her eyes. She saw him went over the counter and ordered his snack.

"Are you really sure about this? I can feel something – " Nao persisted, but she cut her off.

"Nothing bad will happen to me," She said confidently. "I wonder if it will be the same or him…,"she said, letting her voice trailed off. A mischievous glint could be seen in her eyes.

"Just leave. Shoo," she told her two friends, and pushed them away.

"Alright," The two said hesitantly and bid her goodbye.

"Okay. I'll see you two in a while," she replied and waved goodbye to them. She got her unfinished sandwich from her lunch box and pretended to eat, while silently watching Tsukimori Len's moves from the corner of her eyes. She looked straightly at her food and scrambled upon an empty can of soda from her lunch box and pretended to drink when she saw him coming near.

She felt his hand brush against her hair when she passed behind her. If he did that on purpose, she'll never know. But his action sent shiver to her spine and caused her a thousand goose bumps. Her shoulders rose for some unknown reason. She shoved the freaky feeling and tried to focus her attention on him and their upcoming confrontation.

She knew he was somewhere near. And she knew, she'll end up having a stomachache for sipping the air inside the empty soda can. She sighed and decided to stand up and went over the counter to buy new snacks for herself.

--

Tsukimori Len was silently watching Kahoko's every move from his seat. He was two tables away from that brat. And he could see her settling herself in her seat again with a sandwich and a chocolate drink on her hand.

_Hino Kahoko_. He said her name in his mind. _Kaho. _He used to call her that, even though it was just a shorter version of her name. It meant perfume. It suits her, really, smelling like the morning dew and strawberries.

How much she had and hadn't changed for the last years. Time goes by really fast. His ex-childhood playmate was sixteen now. And he knew, a part of the campus' male population was silently interested in her. Oh well, even during their elementary days, Kahoko was an attention caller. She was pretty cute.

And she didn't change much through the years. She had grown into a beautiful young lady, and lovelier than ever. Her red hair was cut according to the latest trend, and it suited her just fine.

Her amber eyes brimmed childlike innocence, but she could look really seductive if she just knew how to. Her small upturned nose was giving everyone the impression that she was a snob, when, in fact, it was the opposite. Her lips were full and sensual, as if always welcoming for a kiss. Her smile was her best asset. He had always loved the way she smiled. Mysteriously enchanting.

But she was still that stubborn, annoying brat he had always known. And he knew it was stupid of him to think that she looked like an angel.

_She walks like an angel walks… _It was a line from an old song. It applied to her, really.

But she was, in fact, a devil in disguise, destroying the cold façade he had always shown everyone.

--

_This is ridiculous, _Kahoko thought while eating her newly-bought chicken sandwich_. It's now or never. _If she would not stand up and confront Tsukimori Len right this minute, she would end up buying and eating their school canteen's stock for the whole academic year.

She exhaled sharply. That Tsukimori Len had always been a pain in her neck. He would go together with Diophantus in her assassination list.

She did her inhale-exhale routine as she summoned all her courage to talk to her all-time favourite enemy. She turned to look at him. He was staring at his food; his favourite yogurt drink on the side.

She inhaled and exhaled deep once again before rising to her feet, encouraging herself as she walked towards his table.

She swallowed hard when she stopped beside in front of his table. She waited for him to look up, but was utterly disappointed. It seemed like he never planned and never intended to look up at her or acknowledge her presence. He was too busy choosing and segregating those hotdog bits from his macaroni.

_So alright, you don't plan to acknowledge my presence._ She sighed in irritation, refraining herself from pulling every strand of his blue hair away from his head. She knew for sure, Len wouldn't look up without provocation.

"Tsukimori Len," she finally managed to call him.

Tsukimori Len flicked his golden eyes at her direction. She didn't know why. But she felt her breath was suddenly caught in her throat. And why was her heart suddenly pounding like she ran a marathon? She could feel droplets of sweat forming on her upper lip.

"Oh, hello, Hino," He acknowledged coldly and got back to the most interesting thing he was doing at the moment – segregating those hotdog bits from his macaroni.

She felt her blood level raising a notch because of his rudeness.

"Hey, Mr. Genius, Antisocial, Ice Block…," she called again angrily.

"What do you want, Hino?" he replied nonchalantly, unperturbed at her sudden explosion. He was expecting that anyway.

"Aren't you going to look at me, Tsukimori?" she asked irately.

At that instance, Tsukimori Len looked up at her once again. He looked at her insolently. "What do you want, Minnie Mouse?" He asked coldly.

_Minnie Mouse. _That was what he always called her when they were young to taunt her. She couldn't blame him. She had two large front teeth way back then, but they were okay now. Thank you very much to braces. Besides, her teeth came to match the size of her other teeth as she grew up. She had in fact a close-up smile, modesty aside.

She could feel her blood level rising. And she won't let Tsukimori Len get into her.

"You've got the courage to say that when you look like Mickey Mouse yourself."

He smirked. His voice low and gravelly when he spoke again.

"So, we're suddenly a couple, then?" he said calmly, leaning himself at the back of his seat, then crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We were a couple when we were young, anyway."

"Excuse me!" This Ice Block is really pissing her off. "And who gave you the idea that we were a couple?" he asked, her eyebrows rising alternately in irritation.

"You," he replied straight-forwardly, one corner of his lips twisted into a facsimile of a smile. So the unsmiling prince could smile. "Minnie and Mickey. Mickey and Minnie. A couple," he said, grinning at her.

She had almost reached her boiling point. "The nerves you've got! Who do you think –"

"Listen, Hino," he said, cutting through her irritated blabbering. "You saw me, and then you worked up all your courage to come over and talk to me," he smiled – a real smile this time, something she had never seen for years now. And she had to admit, he had a close-up smile, too.

His lower lip was fuller. In fact, he looked sexy when he smiled. If only he had made that a habit, he surely would have all those girls drooling. And that insolent face was, in fact, so appealing.

She got more irritated because of what was running in her mind. Now, she hated two persons – him and herself.

"Admit it, Hino," Tsukimori continued. "You like me," he said, smiling at her arrogantly, emphasizing every word.

Her eyes went as wide as a saucer. Like? Him? Kahoko was dumbfounded. Did she hear it right? Tsukimori Len was accusing her of having a crush on him? On him? With this Ice Block? She flared her nose. Definitely not!

They both knew it wasn't true. She knew it was just his way to tease her.

Finally, she was able to find her voice.

"Even if you were the last man on this planet – in the whole universe – I, and I repeat, I would never like an iceberg like you!" she said smugly.

Len's smile had bloomed into a full grin at her statement.

"When would you learn to have your sense of originality, Hino? Girls always say that," he said, inching his face towards hers, leaving only a small distance for her to breathe. She blushed as she remembered that incident at the tree house when they were young, but dismissed the idea immediately. This wasn't the right time for her to think about that. She moved away from him and tried to hide her blush.

She could see Len grinning in triumph. She clenched her fist in anger. She could feel that they were the current centre of attraction in the canteen. She stopped herself from shouting in anger. She would earn another token of humiliation in no time if she would continue talking to him. Why did he have to have a way with words, really? And what was he trying to tell everyone? That she liked him? She exhaled sharply. And why was she being patient with talking to him? She should have listened to Mio and Nao's advice.

"Cool down, Hino," he continued shrugging his shoulders. "I was just stating a simple fact," he said, tilting his head.

She sighed in exasperation. She hated him. Oh, how she hated him.

"I'll tell mom about this!" she said contemptuously. She could feel herself breathing fire in anger. And before she lost her poise and saved her little pride left, she turned her back away from him and marched towards her table. She started packing her things, ignoring those students who had been watching them.

"Nice chatting with you, Hino Kahoko." She heard Tsukimori Len mocked at her as he passed, and waved goodbye.

Argh. She threw him one last angry look and followed him out of the canteen. He was nowhere to be found when she finally managed to went out. She ran a hand at her messy hair in irritation.

She could still hear some students laughing in glee. She was still fuming in anger even though she was as good as half a meter away from the canteen. And she couldn't believe she had let him embarrass her again like that. And he looked so true to his words.

Tsukimori Len-sama, Ice Cube the Great, was accusing her of having a crush on him? On _him_? With this Ice Cube? She flared her nose in disgust. It would be a cold day in hell when that happens.

* * *

**EN****D NOTE:** Gomen, people for a messy update… I was in a rush… got to review… they made me participate in an upcoming quiz show… and it's kinda noisy in here… sheesh… Good or not so good? Please tell me how was this chapter…

I don't know if I'll be updating soon… I know I have said this line for a thousand times – eh, really? Anyway, got a lot of work to do… so please bear with me… the next chapter is almost finished anyway… I was busy writing it during my exam breaks… a blowout for myself… hahaha… passed my law exams in flying colors but with epistaxis… hahaha… anyway, review people… ^^, I'll give you a big hug if you did so… and who knows, I might update fast if you did so.. 

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**POST SCRIPT: **I noticed I wasn't finished yet with the first chapter of the manga… is the story dragging? I hope not… I'm having quite a good time poking around Kaho and Len…. Haha…

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**NEXT ON _E Ti Amo Cosi: _**_This is just a dream... A very bad dream.. And when I opened my eyes, the devil's gone..._


	5. Fairy, Fairy Everywhere!

**Author's Note: ***whimpers* an über late update… gomen nasai… school is torture... beats me... sheesh... this chapter is actually half of the supposed chapter update… this was the first part… it was quite long so I decided to cut it…

* * *

**Summary:** Ice and fire… That's Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko… She never intended to get involved with him again, but seems like fate is playing a game on her, because one day, she found herself living on the same house with him… And she got nothing else to do but to cope up with him, especially when she got dragged into joining the school concours because of the mischievous music fairy, Lili…

* * *

**Disclaimer:** La Corda D'Oro, anime, manga and game versions are owned and created by TV Aichi, Kure Yuki-sensei and KOEI, respectively. The author owns nothing but the story plot and other characters (if there would be any) that would be incorporated in the story. The author, too, doesn't own any of the songs to be featured later on in the story.

* * *

**Lili's One Point Classic: **Lili's debuting in this chapter… can't find a suitable musical term… sheesh…

* * *

_**E Ti Amo Così…**_

Chapter 5

**Fairy, Fairy Everywhere!**

Kahoko exhaled sharply in irritation, running a hand in her messy red hair, as she walked away from the school canteen as far as she could. She could still hear the student's laughter in her ears, making her feel more irritated.

_Tsukimori Len! You'll pay for this! _She thought angrily, her steps moving faster than the usual. She was faltering every once in a while but ignored it, too absorbed in her irritation.

_Mark this day, Tsu—_

Her irrational whining was jumbled up when she bumped into an emerald-haired wall, clad in a male General Education uniform.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, falling to her butt. Her messy hair was messier than the usual, and her butt was aching. Her left hand went up immediately to feel her throbbing forehead, while the other went to support her butt as she tried to stand up, but failed.

_I had a bad fall, _she thought, wincing.

So much for being unlucky today. Now, she didn't just earned a salvaged pride, but a broken bone too. What a pain.

"Oh my. Gomen nasai, miss. Are you alright?" she heard a deep male voice ask, startled but seriously worried.

She looked up and met a set of worried hazel eyes. She frowned at her stupidity. She didn't bumped ito a wall. She bumped into another student who was as hard as a wall, tall and beautifully tanned. Silly her. How could she think that this bishounen is a wall? She smiled at him awkwardly, a tinge of red coloring her cheeks, in both embarrassment and the silly idea she had just thought of.

"I think so," she said, disoriented, making another attempt to stand up, but ended up having her poor butt on the ground again. She winced. For the life of me, why is this day so unlucky.

"My bad," the guy said and held out his hand to help her. "I'm sorry," he said, sincerely, and tried to pull her up to her feet the moment she accepted his helping hand. He didn't let her go until he felt she had regained her balance.

"A-ano… Arigatou…" she told him, bashfully, her face beet red, putting her hair color in shame. "Gomen for troubling you," she uttered, lowering her head to hide her blushing face.

"No, don't say sorry. It's my fault. I'm on the way," he replied embarrassedly, then crouched down to pick up her things.

"No, I'm the one at fault. I wasn't looking," she replied timidly and tried to help him pick up her things but stopped as she felt the prickling pain in her back. She winced and frowned. What's with this day, really? First, there was Tsukimori, then, this embarrassing incident. What's next? She sighed. Whatever was up to her next she just hope it wouldn't cause her another humiliating moment.

"Are you sure you're alright, miss?" she heard the emerald-haired guy ask.

"I guess I'm fine now," she said, getting her things from him. "I'm really sorry for causing you trouble," she said shyly. "Oh, by the way, I'm Hino Kahoko from Class 2-2…" she started, reaching out her had for a handshake. She noticed they have the same scarf color. "You are..?"

"Me? Tsuchiura. Tsuchiura Ryoutaro," he replied, smiling at her, accepting the hand she offered.

"It's nice meeting you Tsuchiura-kun!" she replied, smiling at him and decided to walk with him to their department building.

"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier, Hino-san," he said, his hands on his pocket.

"Oh, no. Please don't think about it anymore," she replied awkwardly. "You helped me anyway."

"No problem. I didn't saw you coming. I'm really sorry about that."

"Tsuchiura-kun, please stop saying that," she replied smiling. "We won't get over this conver—"

"Ah, Hino-san…" her voice trailed off at the sound of that familiar strict voice. She turned towards the voice' direction and came into a stop. Tsuchiura stopped, too, curious why his new acquaintance was called by a school faculty member. His forehead creased as he noticed that they were now on the GenEd building, unaware how and when they had got there.

"Haruka-sensei…" Kahoko acknowledged, stuttering a bit, looking awkwardly at her aunt and Math teacher rolled into one She can feel sweat drops forming on her forehead. What now?

"Kishida-san had been looking for you," her teacher informed, after giving her and Tsuchiura a curios look.

Kahoko's jaw dropped by the mere mention of her English teacher's name. Oh dear. She's in for a big mess.

"Kishida-san, eh?" she heard Tsuchiura whispered, straining her now panicking mind.

"My English teacher," she whispered back silently, her voice with every hint of nervousness.

"Why is she—" Tsuchiura's unfinished question was answered when Haruka-sensei spoke.

"Your girlfriend failed to attend her English class today, if you don't know, Mister," Haruka-sensei said seriously, hiding the teasing tone beneath it.

Kahoko's eyes shoot wide open and so did Tsuchiura's. She saw how shocked his reaction was on the corner of her eyes.

"Girlfriend!?" they blurted out in chorus, then turned to look at each other and ended up blushing at the same instance before looking away.

"Haruka-sensei… It's really not… I mean… We're not… I… We…" Her explanation came out as a series of incomprehensible stuttering, which made her devious teacher laugh. She looked at her incredulously, asking herself what to do in the process. Can someone tell her how laughing at someone's embarrassing predicament became a good idea?

"Tch… Students nowadays…" Haruka-sensei said after a hearty laugh. "Don't worry, Kaho-chan. I won't tell your mother," Haruka-sensei continued, calling her in her usual pet name, gave her a wink after giving the still embarrassed Tsuchiura Ryoutaro a mischievous smile. Sheesh. What a teacher.

"Oh, before I forgot, drop by the faculty room. Kishida-san has something for you," Haruka-sensei continued as she passed between Hino and Tsuchiura, leaving a tomato red-faced Tsuchiura Ryoutaro and a totally doomed Hino Kahoko behind.

--

"Gomen 'ne, Tsuchiura-kun. I took a lot of your time. Kahoko said shyly as she and Tsuchiura made their way towards the Music Department building.

"No problem at all, Hino-san," Tsuchiura replied coolly. "If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you attend your English class?" he said, curiosity getting in on him. His new acquaintance is quite interesting just like as she looks.

Kahoko laughed awkwardly and forcefully. That reminds her. Tsukimori Len. This was his entire fault. She would have to make him pay for this.

"Hino-san?" Tsuchiura called, getting her attention. She looked at him and forced out a smile.

"Err… Ano…" she said, clearing her throat.

"It's okay. You don't have to answer it. Why I asked beats me, really." Tsuchiura said, embarrassed in the boldness of his question.

"Don't worry. It's alright, I guess. I lost track of time, that's all," she said, making up an alibi. It's quite disappointing if her new friend would know she went cutting classes because she picked up a fight. How unbecoming for a girl.

"And about the 'girlfriend' thing, Tsuchiura-kun…" she continued, a touch of pink coloring her cheeks after remembering that embarrassing situation she had gotten involved at yet again.

"It's alright. Kishida-san is your English teacher, right?" Tsuchiura said, trying to hide his embarrassment by changing the topic. "Such a pushy woman…" he commented.

"Yeah. I guess so." She replied. "I'm really sorry about this, Tsuchiura-kun. Thanks for lending a hand."

"I told you, this is nothing. These are too heavy to carry along," He said, smiling at her.

"I think this is it. We're here." Kahoko said, noticing the sudden change in environment and atmosphere. So the music department was something really unusual.

"Wow…" she heard Tsuchiura exclaimed, his eyes roaming all over the place. "I never come over the Music Department but the atmosphere here is really different." he said uneasily.

"It is, isn't it? The school building appears considerably old. Even the uniform is different," Kahoko said, innocent about the tension gradually increasing around the two of them.

"We definitely stand out here," Tsuchiura commented uncomfortably.

"Yeah," she replied, feeling the stares they were receiving. It sent shivers down her body as she feel like she was some specimen under a compound microscope.

"But it doesn't feel good, being treated as such an outsider," her companion said warily."Both the Music section and Regular section have a strong sense of pride. But have a weak sense of belonging as a school." He pointed out, looking around once again. He felt like some criminal under surveillance at the stares they were receiving.

"You've got a good point there, Tsuchiura-kun," Kahoko said, nodding in agreement.

"Ah well… I'm just glad we have different uniforms," he said his voice laced with obvious distaste.

"Eh? Why so?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

"That fluttering scarf-like doesn't suit me. It looks horrible."

""Horrible' might be a strong word. But I get what you mean…"she said, a forced smile on her lips. "Wait a moment. Where are we bringing this again, Tsuchiura-kun?" she said, as she remembered why they went there.

"Oh I almost forgot. Class 2—"

"You two over there…"

Kahoko's head snapped as she heard that familiar cold voice behind them. She shook her head mentally. Not. Again. After their two encounters today, she was the least person she ever wanted to see. No. Wrong. She doesn't want to see him. But fate has its game to play.

"Move over," the voice said coldly, chilling. "You're in the way."

Kahoko turned around and found the last person she wanted to deal with ever. Tsukimori Len was standing there, so poised, his arms across his chest, so calm and collected, without any trace of recognition shown on his face. Tsukimori surely knows how to act. _No one in the school knows they were old friends_, she thought, emphasizing the 'old' word deliberately.

"Perfect." Tsuchiura said, unaware of the tension between Kahoko and the guy standing before them. "We were asked to bring these stuff to your class. Can you bring them in?" he asked politely.

"Take them in yourselves. It has nothing to do with me," Tsukimori Len said in his frostbiting cold voice, after discreetly giving Kahoko one last insolent stare and passed between her and the greenhead.

Kahoko glowered at him silently, reminding herself that she's on the enemy's territory. How rude can he get, really.

"What the heck!?" she heard Tsuchiura mumbled, giving Tsukimori one deadly glare.

---

"Oh my. Thanks a lot for helping," Kahoko said smiling while stretching her hands forgetting Tsukimori Len for awhile. She'll find time for him.

"Don't mention it," he said smiling coolly at her, and then took a glimpse on his watch. "We'll then, I've got class now. I'll be going ahead."

"Eh? Is that so? Sorry to keep you so long," she said apologetically.

"It's alright," he said and bid her goodbye. "Later!"

She nodded in response. "Arigatou gozaimasu!" she called one last time, bowing her head low.

_I think I should get going myself, _she thought frowning and started to make her way out of the Music Department building. _Nao and Mio-chan must be worried, _she told herself. She failed to attend their English class and she hadn't shown herself to them yet. She gave out a sigh.

That Tsukimori. She frowned and gave out a sigh for the nth time that day. Won't she be able to think about anything aside from that blue-haired violin prodigy? She felt tired dealing with him the whole day, and thinking about him – his mischief, actually – yet again, is definitely exhausting. She looked around and tried to find something that interest her. Luckily, an interesting thought popped up in her hazy mind.

_They were saying something about that contest this morning, _she thought as she continued walking. _I wonder if it's such a big deal over the Music department, _she continued wondering silently to herself.

_And there was a fairy they were talking about Yeah. A fairy. There is a statue of a fairy in the main gate. _She told herself remembering a huge statue of a mischievous-looking fata welcoming a student as he enters the main gate.

_That must have sparked those ridiculous rumors, _she mused, running a hand on her hair. _But fairies are non-existent, _she said stopping by the open corridor and leaning her back over the railings.

"Why can't anyone see me? I have to be discovered soon!"

Her thought seemed to evaporate into thin air when she heard that tiny, sad voice.

_EH? _She exclaimed as she looked around, surveying her surroundings. There was no one around except for a very large cat in front of her. And she very well knew that cats can't talk.

_Was that my imagination? _She thought nervously. The very last thing she would want to see now, after three consecutive encounters with Tsukimori Len is a ghost. She shivered and immediately dismissed the thought.

_Ghost like fairies are non-existent, _she said, trying to convince herself. But her convincing powers were no good.

"I don't have anymore time…" Her ears perked up upon hearing that tiny worried voice again. Not again. She looked around one more time. There was really no sign of any person around except her.

She sighed and looked up, hoping to see the clear blue sky to ease her nerves. But she saw something very peculiar to her liking.

Eh? That was her monosyllabic reaction at the sight of a tiny flying being right in front of her.

"Oh?" the tiny being exclaimed.

She gasped, her amber eyes flickered.

"Oh!" the tiny creature exclaimed excitedly now. "You can see me!? You can see me, right!" the flying creature squealed happily, hovering joyfully and dancing in glee in the air.

She fell to her butt for the second time that day, startled and scared. What ----?

"My name is Lili…" the tiny creature introduced himself. "You'll be the sixth person! What's your name?" the fata said animatedly, unaware that the person he was talking to had run away.

* * *

**END NOTE:** Gomen, people for another messy update… And for taking me forever to update… Always in a rush… Always busy… Sheesh… Dear me… Anyway, good or not so good? I'm hoping for your reviews, people! =)

* * *

**POST SCRIPT: **I'm soon to finish with the first chapter of the manga… hahaha… finally… then I maybe deviating from the original story… anyway, my update might took another millennium… =) And cheers to the reviewer of the last chapter... I'm sorry for expressing my gratitude just now... Domo arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san! =)  


* * *

**NEXT ON **_**E Ti Amo Cosi: **__This is just a dream... A very bad dream… And when I open my eyes, the devil's gone._


	6. Badinerie

**Author's Note: **here's the other half of my first update… I hope you'd like it… =) and cheers to the reviewers of the past chapters… many thanks to you, guys… =) *bear hug* after this chapter, the story might take a different twist, so watch out… though I think the story's twisted already from the very start… oh… how would I repair this mess… tch…

* * *

**Summary:** Ice and fire… That's Tsukimori Len and Hino Kahoko… She never intended to get involved with him again, but seems like fate is playing a game on her, because one day, she found herself living on the same house with him… And she got nothing else to do but to cope up with him, especially when she got dragged into joining the school concours because of the mischievous music fairy, Lili…

* * *

**Disclaimer:** La Corda D'Oro, anime, manga and game versions are owned and created by TV Aichi, Kure Yuki-sensei and KOEI, respectively. The author owns nothing but the story plot and other characters (if there would be any) that would be incorporated in the story. The author, too, doesn't own any of the songs to be featured later on in the story.

* * *

**Lili's One Point Classic: **"Badinerie", our chapter title, is a French word for teasing. It indicates a piece of music of light-hearted character. The best known badinerie is the lively last movement of Bach's Suite in B minor for flute, strings and continuo.

* * *

_**E Ti Amo Così…**_

**CHAPTER 6**

**Badinerie**

Kahoko's eyes were welcomed by an eerie darkness when she opened it.

_What happened? Where am I? _She asked herself mentally as she looked around trying to figure out the things around her aside from the soft bed where she was lying. She sat up and stretched her arms, feelings the things around her. She had touched a bedside table and a what seemed like table lamp on top of it. She switched the lamp on and a dim yellow light flooded the room.

She looked around and found everything oddly familiar. Reality hit her after a couple of minutes. She's on her room. Yeah. That explains the striped pink wallpaper that she can make out despite the poor lighting, and the strawberry scent she was smelling all along.

_How did she get here? _She asked herself, frowning as she collected her thoughts. There was a presence, an apparition and then she collapsed.

_Is it the school fairy? _She asked herself, milking the answer in her still hazy mind but got nothing. Well. Whatever that thing is, apparition or not, fairy or not, she just hope she won't be seeing it again.

She turned and looked at the alarm clock silently standing on her bedside table. The clock says it's six o'clock in the evening.

_How long had she been asleep? _She wondered silently as she got up from bed and into her feet. Sheesh. Waking up with so many questions swirling on her head made her head ache. She decided to go to the kitchen. She noticed she was still on her school uniform when she started walking around. Alright. How about taking a quick shower first? She walked towards her chest of drawers and got herself an underwear, then made her way to the bathroom.

She opened the door with her left hand while the other unbuttoned her blouse.

"Hey!" an oddly familiar voice resounded inside the bathroom. It was a male voice. She stopped unbuttoning her blouse. There is a guy in her bathroom? Are the pipes leaking? She didn't notice it this morning.

Her questions were answered when the shower curtain was pulled to the side. She immediately recognized the owner of the voice. Her underwear fell to the tiled floor, her breath caught in her throat.

"Don't you know how to knock?" a frowning Tsukimori Len welcomed her. He was wet from the shower and wearing only a towel around his waist.

Oh. Dear. Kahoko wanted to scream, but she felt really weak. She felt like she was suffering from asthma. This could not be happening. She was thinking about Tsukimori Len the whole day and this is just her imagination.

She shut her eyes tightly._ I am asleep. This is just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. And when I opened my eyes, the devil is gone. _She told herself frantically, doing her inhale-exhale routine.

She opened her eye – her two eyes…

But this isn't a dream! Tsukimori Len is still in front of her, eyeing her intently and wearing nothing but a towel around her waist. Water dripping from his wet hair down to his toned body. The scene before her sentshivers down her spine. And to add to her horror, his eyes are now focused on the floor – to her forgotten undies to be exact.

"Pink, huh?" he said in a teasing tone, an infuriating smile now hovering on his lips. His lips twitched, pointing that part of her unbuttoned blouse exposing her bra.

She was gaping at him for a moment, her eyes as wide as a saucer. And after her routinary inhale-exhale, she managed to scream tearing the whole place down. She an out of her room and rushed downstairs to her mother's room. Ever since hr father died, her mother had been using the guest room downstairs. She opened the door forcefully, almost hitting the wall when it opened.

"Mommy!" she screamed, but she was welcomed by her sister Reiko's startled look.

"Is there a devil after you?" Hino Reiko asked drily and focused her attention again on the television show she was watching.

"There's no devil after me, but there's a devil in my room, in my bathroom!" she amended. "What is that ice block doing in my bathroom, one-chan?"

"You don't have to shout, Kaho," her sister replied calmly, and turned the television off. "Calm down and take a breath."

"No. Where's Okaa-san? I need to talk to her. I want an explanation and I want it now! What is that jerk doing in my bathroom!" she demanded. "Why is he taking his bath there?" she don't know what else to say. She felt like she was in an episode of the Twilight Zone or the Candid Camera.

Her sister rose from her seat and walked towards her. "Len will be staying here with us ---"

"What!" she shouted even before her sister finished her sentence. Did she hear it right? She had to remind herself to breathe.

"Where's Okaa-san? What are you talking about? What do you mean Len will be living with us?" she queried in one breath, sending her catching for air.

"Will you let me finish first, Kaho? Reiko said calmly. "Len will be living with us for the meantime." Her sister explained.

"But, nee-chan, why?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed, her forehead in deep creases. She's pretty sure her wrinkles would be permanent after that conversation. "And where's okaa-san? I want to talk to her about this." She demanded yet again.

"The Tsukimoris' left for Kyushu – three weeks on a business trip… And mother went with them." Her sister explained with a shrug.

"I don't believe this!" her pitch rose once again. She couldn't be hearing all these things. "Why do we have to be the one to take the responsibility? We weren't even blood-related. And for goodness' sake, why is mom with them!" she exclaimed, irritation evident on her voice.

"Kaho?" her sister asked. "Why are you like that? You're speaking like you and Len were never friends."

"We _were _friends, alright. _Were._" She emphasized the monosyllabic word with exaggeration. "Past tense. Don't you remember what he did to the doll you gave me?" She was talking about her favorite doll which Len murdered when she left it on the tree house.

"Oh, c'mon, Kaho. That's past already. And it's not Len who murdered the doll. It's a stray cat. He was just there when it happened." Her sister said, a matter-of-factly. "Besides, if ever he was the one who did that, he had every right to do so. You were very mean to him, Kaho. Teasing him always. "

She snorted. "I'm just stating a fact. What will I do if he's really an ice block!' she said, stomping her feet childishly on the floor.

"Anyway, let's not talk about it. I don't want that ice block here. Three weeks? Oh my god!" She wanted to scream terribly because of the idea. She silently prayed her extreme objection can do something. "Can't he live alone in their house? He's just next door. It's just a fence that separates us. Goodness! He's seventeen. Some boys are fathers already in that age!" She feels like she's going to have a heart attack any moment.

"The Tsukimoris' if I can monitor him. And I won't be able to do that if he's over there." Her sister reasoned out.

"Monitor? Why? Is Len sick? Oh. Let me guess. Frostbite? Or some mental Illness?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Don't be silly," her sister said, amused at her reaction. "Misa-san is afraid he would shut himself all day in his practice room and play the violin. And he can't cook, dear."

"I don't care! He's smart, right? He definitely now practicing all day without rest would make him sick. And what's his cooking problem have to with this? They're rich. They have maids an all that. He won't starve himself." She countered irrationally.

"I don't have any idea why you're acting like that, my dear little sister." Her sister said with a frown. "And let me shed some light to your illogical mind. Tsukimori-sama," her sister said, referring to Len's father, "sent all their maids in vacation. So Len would have to take care of himself. And he's cooking problem is the main reason why he's staying with us, got that? Misa-san was so worried about her son, so Mom told her we would take him in."

"What! Mom told him that! Considering Mom's the one behind this, why is she with them?"

"Would you stop exaggerating, Kaho!" her sister warned. Kahoko is getting to her nerves, really.

"But—" Kahoko protested, but her sister cut through.

Hino Reiko sighed and held her hands.

"Three weeks isn't that long, Kaho." Her sister said in a pleading tone, begging her to understand. "Mom's doing something really important. The Tsukimoris are backing her up. T need your cooperation here, brat. This is for us."

Her brows furrowed at her sister's statement. _This is for us._ But Tsukimori Len around isn't for her. And for three long weeks! Her sister must be kidding. Those words seemed to resound on her mind. What would her three long weeks be like with that ice block everywhere?

Tsukimori Len is going to be on her face for twenty-four hours a day and for twenty-one days. In her house, in school – and damn him! They would even be sharing the same bathroom!

If she can only fast forward all of this to end those three weeks immediately, she would. She sighed. She knew when she stood defeated.

"Why didn't you tell me he would be staying with us, anyway? This is like an ambush! I'm seeing him everywhere suddenly!" And that guy left the bathroom door unlocked. She can't imagine what could have happened if he still wasn't finished taking a bath and he didn't hear the bathroom door open, and when she pulled the shower curtain first and saw something she wasn't supposed to see.

Her imagination ran wild. And that sent shivers down her body.

"Because I know you would object." Her sister replied frankly.

"That's so unfair. You didn't even ask my opinion."" She told her, trying to dismiss Len's image without the towel wrapping the lower part of his body.

"So okay, if I asked your opinion, would you be saying 'yes'?"

"Definitely not,' she said, emphasizing every word.

"That's what we thought."

She was speechless for a moment. She pouted her lips.

"But, nee-chan…" she said, an idea, entering her mind. "Do you know what he did to me today?" she said, putting her hands in her hips. "He humiliated me in front of the whole class!"

Her sister's brows furrowed. "Kaho, Len's in the Music Department. You're not classmates." Her sister said, then with a frown, added, "are you?"

"Oh, yes, we're not until today. We're having Music Theory lessons now, nee-chan…" she explained, sourly.

Her sister was silent for a moment. "I see…" her replied with a nod, her thoughts, unfathomable.

"And he called me 'Minnie Mouse'!" she finished, unaware that her sister had spaced out for a moment, until she heard her statement.

Kahoko, at the very least, expected empathy from her sister. But none came. She didn't get the reaction she expected. Hino Reiko bursted out laughing instead.

"Onee-chan!" she exclaimed, irritated. She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She went to the kitchen to get some drinks to soothe her nerves. But ended up wishing she didn't, when she saw her current apple of the eye there, standing coolly, his eternally white cotton polo unbuttoned expressing his chest, his blue hair sticking to each side stating the obvious fact that she saw him a while ago fresh from the shower. She refrained herself from blushing when she remembered the scene she saw when she entered the forbidden bathroom door. He would surely know what she's thinking.

She saw how Len lean poisely on the fridge. He was smirking at her, holding an egg sandwich on his hand, while the other crossed above his chest. He looked really sexy at his pose. She exhaled irritatedly. Her mind is surely going far. She inhaled deeply but shivered when the scent of her own soap combined with his natural scent entered her nose.

He used her soap!

She wanted to scold him, to shout at him but she love the smell of her soap on him. She's sure she didn't smell like that, but he smells so good. She tilted her head and frowned.

"You used my soap and definitely my shampoo," she said her arms crossed above her breast.

"Share your things and win a friend," he said tauntingly, smiling in between eating his sandwich.

"Funny," she said sarcastically. Her nose flaring, her eyebrows crisscrossing in every possible way. "You just got here but you raided our refrigerator already," she said as she walked towards the fridge.

Tsukimori Len would have guessed that she would hit him that was why he immediately stepped aside. She snorted. Smart jerk. She opened the fridge and got her box of milk.

"Your fridge is full. I'm just cleaning it," he said haughtily.

She glared at him. "You really feel so full of yourself today, huh, iceberg?" She walked towards the cupboard, got a glass and poured herself some milk. "You're such a good actor. And no. That's not a compliment. "She said, knowing how the violin prodigy acts in front of everyone else and in front of her alone.

"It's inborn, Kaho-chan," he said with a grin and she just thought it took her breath away. She felt like hitting herself after that. Damn Tsukimori. Damn his rare grin.

"Would you stop calling me 'Kaho-chan'?!" she said, gritting her teeth. She had to stop gritting her teeth; it would break into pieces if she wouldn't.

He just shrugged her off. "Old habits. I thought we still have the connection."

She started counting from one to ten and silently prayed to give her calmness.

"You don't have to act as if you're going to suffer a heart attack, Kahoko. You're answer in Music Theory is absolutely wrong. I just stood to correct you," he said, figuring out one of the many reasons why she's so angry at him.

Her brows rose an inch at his statement. She gasped.

"How arrogant!" she shrieked.

"Anyway, let's not talk about that…" Len said, without paying attention to what she just said. He opened his arms to her and said gently, "Why don't you give your old best friend a hug, Kahoko. I missed you."

There was something really appealing in his voice and if it happened under a different circumstance, she would have give in easily to his request. Because, if she were to be honest to herself, she missed him, too. But she' rather have the floor eat her up than admit it to him.

"Go hug yourself!" she said and slammed the glass in the table almost spilling its content. She turned her back from him and decided to march away.

"Don't worry. I didn't picked up your undies!" Len countered before she had made any step away from the kitchen. "And I won't tell the guys your undies were pink!" he continued teasingly, followed by a series of crisp laughter. Something she had rarely heard from him nowadays.

She ran out of the kitchen in irritation and embarrassment. Grrr! Tsukimori! The nerve of him, really!

She opened her bedroom door harshly and slammed it close. She wanted to scream so very badly. This is going to be the longest three weeks of her life…

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**END NOTE:** OOC? I know… I have a gut feeling that Tsuchiura, Hihara and Yunoki got messed in Len's character… I hope it would pass… Good, not so good, not really good? Anyhow, please do review… Constructive criticisms are most welcome… =)

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**POST SCRIPT: **yey! Almost off with chapter one! One more chap to go! Ahaha…


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